Beach Break!

Ba'ul circled around the spot on the beach, his voice echoing through the air like a whale under the water, leaving the Fiertia parked near the end of the shore. The Entelexeia was watching the group of humans below him, making sure they were taking the proper precautions to be safe. Rita was setting up a barrier tent, amplifying it to cover a large area. The barrier spilled into the ocean, taking up a good portion of it. Yuri and Estelle were setting up the blankets and umbrellas. Ba'ul could see Judith on the sandy beaches, smiling up at him in parting.

'I'll call you back tomorrow, okay?'

Ba'ul sent his thoughts back to her, agreeing with her statement. He quietly flew away, off to a place where he could rest. Judith watched him go, before Yuri's voice grabbed her attention.

"Okay, Rita's done setting up the barrier. I officially call our first ever 'Beach Break'!" Yuri exclaimed, breaking off into chuckles at the end of his sentence. Karol was cheering loudly, jumping up and down in excitement. Estelle clapped her hands, eager to experience the joy of playing at the beach. Raven's eyes were practically drooling, eyeing Judith in a way that made Rita growl at him.

"Come on Yuri, let's go change!" Karol shouted, grabbing his arm to tug him back to the Fiertia. Raven remarked about 'youth and their energy', before following after them. Repede barked, flitting around in a circle before settling himself on one of the blankets. The umbrella shielded his back from the sun, and the dog sighed in contentment.

"Alright then, let's go Rita, Estelle. We have to put those newly bought swimsuits to good use, right?" Judith said, a hand on her hip to emphasize her point. Rita shrugged after Estelle looked at her, and the three made their way to the Fiertia to get changed. Repede watched them go, ears pricking for signs of monsters. The sword strapped to his side was starting to bother him, so as he saw Yuri come back, Repede growled at his master.

"Okay, okay Repede." Yuri said, chuckling as he undid the straps and buckles. "Better?" Repede barked in response. Yuri grinned. "Good." The intelligent animal settled back down onto the blanket, grumbling contentedly. Yuri, clad in his dark, skin-tight capris pants, plopped down beside his partner and waved to Karol, who was making his way towards them. The young boy wore yellow swimming trunks, a big grin on his face.

"Yuri! This is great! I haven't ever gone swimming at the beach before! I used to go with Nan and the Hunting Blades, but all of them were too busy chasing monsters around that we never got a chance to get in the water." Karol commented, crossing his legs as he sat down in front of Yuri. The twenty-one year old would have responded, had Raven not popped up out of nowhere suddenly with a tired expression.

"Hey, pooch, you mind moving over a smidge for old Raven? All that preparation has left me in the dust. I knew kids had energy, but whoo! Never thought they'd be that crazy." He asked. Repede growled, quite content where he was and not about to move anytime soon, especially not for an old pervert. Raven gulped, looking over to Yuri and Karol.

"Umm…" Karol trailed off, Yuri smirking as he cut in.

"Sorry old man, me and 'sun' don't mix." He replied, leaning back on his hands to mock the war veteran. Raven seemed to deflate at his reply, whimpering a little. Karol stifled his laughs, trying hard not to look at the archer dressed in a one-piece, purple-and-white striped swimsuit. Karol was afraid that if he looked at Raven, wearing his long-underwear inspired bathing costume he would die of laughter. So instead, Karol tried to distract himself.

"Judith!"

Raven spun around so fast Yuri almost thought he was a kid at a candy store.

"Hello boys."

Yuri was eternally grateful for his poker face, for if he didn't have it he would just burst out in laughter and/or his eyes would pop out of his head. The Krityan they travelled with wasn't one who frequented modesty often, so Yuri wasn't too surprised to see oodles of skin showing. But seriously, she had the weirdest sense of style!

"Like it?" Judy asked, referring to the revealing two-piece she was currently wearing. The bottoms would be blue bikinis, if only there wasn't a ruffled white skirt that covered about half her butt. Even then, that wasn't too out-of-the-ordinary. But it was the top that made Yuri want to burst out in laughter. It was primarily blue, and styled like a bikini, but the straps had lace on them, and the ends of the bikini were decorated with frills. Yuri saw sparkles just about everywhere, and there was a giant yellow happy face plastered on the left side.

"It's, uh… it's interesting?" Karol stammered.

"It's something alright." Yuri said, unable to keep the mischievous grin off his face. "What'd you do? Rob a little girl of her princess dress?" Judith merely smiled kindly, like she was expecting that. Then again, this was Yuri she was talking to.

"Well judging by the way you're eyeing me, I'd say it was a good choice." The Krityan responded, putting a hand on her hip and leaning her weight onto one foot. Raven jumped in immediately, sidling closer to Judith.

"I think you look lovely, darlin'." Raven commented, winking at her. Judith tilted her head when she looked at him, pointing at his face.

"Do you have something in your eye? It's doing this weird twitching thing." She said, and Raven's head drooped in rejection. Karol, deciding the ocean and the waves looked more entertaining than Judith putting down Raven, sprang up and ran to the shore, shouting he'd be over there and 'not here'. Judith watched him go. "He's energetic." She commented. Yuri shrugged.

"He's twelve. Let him have his fun." Yuri commented. Raven's head perked up, and he shot a lecherous grin to Judith, his hand reaching out to touch her chest.

"And let the adults have their fun… OW!" The old man jerked his hand back, blowing on it to alleviate the burns. Rita stood behind the three of them, her body poised as if she had just cast her trademark 'fireball'. "Aw crud!" Raven exclaimed. Rita's eyes narrowed.

"Don't even think about it you lecher, or I'll blow you into outer space!" The genius mage threatened, snarling. She wore a red two-piece, the bottoms resembling shorties and the top a short tank top. It was very tomboyish and didn't show as much skin as Judith would've hoped it did. But Rita would not let Judith have a say in what she wore, no way.

"Hey Rita, going swimming?" Yuri asked, still lounging under the umbrella. Rita snorted, hands on her waist as if offended he would ask her something like that. She had a belt strapped onto her waist that housed all the knick-knacks she usually carried around on her top. Among them was the canteen they got from Mantaic.

"As if. Playing in the ocean is for little kids, like him," she jerked her thumb to Karol, who was trying desperately to jump over the giant waves coming after him. Key word: trying. She crossed her arms. "I'm going to be up and down this place, making sure the barrier tents are working to keep out monsters. I just wore my swimsuit because it's hot out today, and I don't want to have to trudge up and down the beach fully covered."

Yuri shrugged, commenting, "Whatever floats your boat." He looked around a little, unfortunate to find he could not look past Rita, Judith, and Raven. And since getting up was going to be a pain, not to mention leave his seat open for Raven to commandeer, Yuri just asked. "Where's Estelle?"

"I-I'm here."

The three standing persons stepped to the side to turn and look, leaving a clear view for Yuri on the blanket. It took everything Yuri had in him to stay on the blanket.

Estelle, sweet innocent Estelle, was wearing a pink two-piece swimsuit no doubt picked out by Judith. The bottoms were like those of bikinis, with dangling strings on the sides tied into cute ribbons, brushing against her milky skin. The top was tube-inspired, fitting over her intermediate breasts, and they were held up by a piece of string attached to the middle of the top, winding around her neck.

"It looks wonderful." Judith commented, mentally patting herself on the back. Rita shot her a glare.

"She's exposing way too much skin." The mage rebutted, crossing her arms. "I should've never let you pick out her swimsuit." Grumbling, Rita walked off to the barrier at the farthest end of the beach. Raven ogled her, supposing he'd never get another chance to see the princess in such revealing clothes. Yuri's eyes narrowed.

"This is so embarrassing…" Estelle said, patting her blushing cheeks. Yuri swiftly got up, grabbing a towel from beside him. He walked to Estelle (clonking Raven's head in the process), throwing the towel over her shoulders. She looked up at him, still blushing but with a curious look on her face.

"If you're embarrassed, cover up."

She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Karol in the water.

"Hey Estelle! Come on, the water's great!" He shouted, before being pummelled by another wave. Estelle, excitement overtaking her embarrassment, forgot about the towel around her shoulders and let it slide off of her as she ran towards Karol and the ocean. Yuri caught it before the sand under his feet could soil it, shaking his head in amusement as he saw Estelle enjoy herself to the fullest extent.

Raven sighed, putting his hands behind his head. "I better go watch those two, and make sure one of 'em doesn't drown." With that thought in mind, Raven slowly ambled his way over to the two in the water, taking his sweet time. Yuri dropped the white towel with all the other ones, plopping back down onto his spot on the blanket. Judy looked at him with some mysterious expression, before lying on the spread-out blanket beside Yuri, sunbathing.

There was nothing but silence between the two for a while, Judith basking in the glow and heat of the sun's rays. Yuri's eyes were cautiously flickering to each of the people in the vicinity of the beach, carefully watching over them like an overprotective father or brother. He chuckled as Rita, and even the old man, were convinced to go into the water via lots of pleading from Estelle. It came to a slight surprise, though when he felt Judith's arm brush against his. She had come to sit beside him, dangerously close.

Yuri's eyes flickered to the side, avoiding the exposed skin of Judith's legs. She was intentionally trying to seduce him, he knew. It was kind of like a game to the both of them; see who could break first. See how long they'd be able to skirt around each other like nervous teenagers. But they were both adults, so Yuri kept his cool and trained his eyes on the people laughing and playing in the water.

"Does it bother you?"

Yuri blinked, looking at Judith. "Huh?" She pointed in the direction of the water, and Yuri followed her finger to see it rest on Estelle, who was currently shrieking as Karol splashed water onto her. Yuri discreetly gulped as he saw the rivulets of water slide down Estelle's body, one of those tiny streams disappearing between her cleavage.

He saw Judith smile knowingly from beside him. Yuri's eyes flickered away.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said, and Judith laughed softly.

"Oh don't you? I wonder…" She mumbled, trailing off. "But honestly, that swimsuit looks fantastic on her, don't you think?" Yuri shrugged, still refusing to look at the bikini-clad princess out on the shore.

"I don't know. Fashion isn't really my thing." Yuri said. Judith sighed, shaking her head as she stood up to join the others in the water. Stepping out into the sun, Yuri stared only at her eyes as the bright light highlighted the rest of her body.

"Oh Yuri. This has nothing to do with fashion. You're a man, aren't you? And you know just as well as everyone else that I'm no good at lying, so you need to just admit it to yourself." Judith told him, leaning forward in encouragement. Yuri closed his eyes and looked away, to avoid staring at her dangling breasts.

"Admit what? There's nothing to admit." Yuri answered, hearing Judith's sigh and soft laugh directly after his answer.

"Silly human." Judith said, before whirling around and sprinting away to join the rest of their group. Before she left completely, Yuri could hear her last words. "Admit that you don't love Estelle."

Repede looked at his master, who had opened his eyes as Judith ran off. The dog followed Yuri's gaze until it fell on one Child of the Full Moon, whose excitement at Judith's entrance reached Repede's ears. The fighting animal turned his head to look at his master once more. Yuri, poker face still on, lied back on his arms and propped a leg up, intent on taking a short nap. "Watch them for me, will you Repede?"

Repede let out a whine, and Yuri closed his eyes. The dog turned back to watch his teammates, letting his head rest on his front paws.

...

...

...

Yuri groaned, feeling Repede's wet nose nudge at his side, then his cheek. He batted the dog away softly, sitting up and shaking the sleep out of his head. Repede was standing beside his bed, whimpering quietly so no one but Yuri could hear him. Yuri, senses alert, grabbed his sword.

"What is it Repede?" He whispered, standing up. Repede used his mouth to grab the straps of Yuri's sheath, setting it quietly back onto the ground. That was his way of saying, "You don't need that" so Yuri let his sword slide through his fingers. Repede then scratched at the door, and Yuri let them both out into the cool night air.

Repede padded softly to the bow (front) of the ship, whimpering in the direction of the shallow water. Yuri was surprised to see a figure standing out there, especially at this time of night. It was hard to tell who it was, given the shadows hid the person quite well. Repede whined again, walking over to a spot on the Fiertia where Estelle's clothes were neatly folded.

"Estelle?" Yuri questioned, knowing he got it right when Repede barked softly. Yuri smiled, kneeling down to Repede's eye level. "Thanks Repede. You stay here, I'll be back with Estelle soon." Repede circled around, settling himself of the wooden floor of the Fiertia in waiting. Yuri wasted no time, standing up and making his way off the ship.

It didn't take long for him to reach her, standing at the edge of the tides. He was about to call out to her, but stopped.

Yuri couldn't help but think she looked even more beautiful in the moonlight, wading waist-deep in the water while the shadows flickered across her skin. He could see she was mostly wet, everything except her hair. It caused her skin to glitter, because of the rays of the moon shining down on her. She suddenly turned, sensing someone watching her.

"Yuri?" Estelle whispered, a hand resting at her bosom. Yuri grinned, raising a hand in greeting. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. "Oh my gosh! Yuri, I'm so sorry for waking you!" She exclaimed, but Yuri just waved it off.

"It's not a big deal Estelle. I couldn't sleep anyways." Of course, that was a humongous lie, but Estelle could never really tell between lies and truth when it came to anyone. "Do you mind if I join you?" Estelle shook her head, turning back to stare up into the night sky. Yuri took that opportunity to take off his boots and top, leaving only his skin-tight capris.

He walked into the water; glad the tide wasn't rough like earlier in the day. There was only a gentle motion, like the rocking of a baby's cradle or a mother's arms. Before long, the ex-knight came to stand beside the princess of the empire, Estellise Sidos Heurassein.

"So why are you up in the middle of the night?" Yuri asked, never one for subtlety. Estelle looked down at the water lapping at her stomach, playing with her fingers. She was hesitating, Yuri thought, but for what reason he couldn't understand.

"It… It may sound a little strange, but I feel most… alive during the night." She answered. Yuri hummed in thought, looking up to stare at the full moon above them. He let out a short laugh.

"Well that would make sense," Yuri told her. "It's cause you're the 'Child of the Full Moon', right?" Estelle nodded in agreement, choosing not to voice her confirmation. Silence fell between the two of them, and they basked in the glow of the moonlight, in the breeze of the night air, and in the presence of the other. Yuri, though, could feel the tension in Estelle's body rising until she finally burst.

"I'm scared."

He looked sharply at her, thinking that the barrier Rita set up was disappearing and a monster found its way in. But he saw her shaking, clutching at her forearms with her head dropped. Yuri reached out to her, touching her shoulder in comfort when he realized no monsters were to be found.

"Estelle, why?" Yuri asked softly, trying not to frighten her. Estelle sniffled, little tears falling from her luminescent teal eyes. He waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts and to calm herself down.

"Because… because I feel like something bad is going to happen, and it's going to be all my fault!" Estelle exclaimed, the tears dropping freely down her pale cheeks. "And no matter what I do, I won't be able to stop it, and you and everyone will get hurt and I won't be there to help and-," The rest of her sentence was cut off when Yuri covered her mouth to stop her rambling.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Estelle, calm down!" Yuri said, letting his hand drop when Estelle took a few deep breaths. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders, staring at her through his long hair. "Now you listen to me Estelle, nothing is going to happen, because I'm not going to let it happen, okay?" Estelle sniffled, staring into his onyx eyes with her teal ones. She nodded, smiling a little happy smile.

"Okay." And in a fit of boldness, the princess lunged out to wrap her arms firmly around Yuri's waist, hugging him with all her might. Yuri was surprised, cheeks blushing hotly as he felt her chest press into his. She was hugging him so tightly, so close, that he could feel every curve of her body against his, and marvelled at how perfectly they fit together.

"Estelle." Yuri murmured, his hands hesitating, but wrapping around her shoulders. "You could never be the cause of anything bad." Estelle let go, much to Yuri's disappointment (though he'd never admit it). She smiled widely at him, bowing in habit to his kindness.

"Thank you Yuri." She said softly, raising her head to gaze into his eyes. "For believing in me."

Yuri watched her walk out of the water, turning to him in confusion. He knew what she was about to ask, and shook his head. "I want to stay here for a little longer. You go on without me." Estelle didn't question his motives, especially after everything he just did for her, so she smiled and nodded.

"Okay. Good night, Yuri." He nodded to her.

"Night Estelle. Sweet dreams." The last part was whispered to himself, so Estelle couldn't hear it. She just began to walk off to the Fiertia after Yuri bid her goodnight. Yuri watched her go, all the way until she stepped into the Fiertia where he knew Repede would watch her to make sure she went to sleep.

Yuri's eyes flickered away, and up at the night sky. He could see Brave Vesperia, the brightest star of them all, glinting at the top of the world. Yuri spent what seemed like hours, but was only a span of minutes, just gazing at the namesake of the guild. As if Estelle's words had got to him, Yuri had made a silent prayer to the brother of the Child of the Full Moon, in hopes that everything would work out okay, and Estelle wouldn't have to suffer any longer.

Looking back down, Yuri turned to make his way back to his clothes lying in the sand, chuckling and shaking his head.

"You really are bad at lying, aren't you Judy?"

A/N: So this was inspired when I thought, "what would the ToV characters swimsuits looks like?" I added in some Esturi (my fandom name for Estelle/Yuri) and some Yudith (my fandom name for Yuri/Judith) because I love the relationship between Yudith. It's hilarious! The both of them could become a couple, but they're both so independent of each other that I think it wouldn't really go anywhere. Not to mention, the two of them like to skit around the topic of their conversation a lot.

Now Esturi on the other hand...

Anyways, please R and R and tell me what you think!

Snowflake Flower